With a base at Thornaby, the North Star housing association provides affordable housing and develops new homes across the Tees Valley, North Yorkshire and County Durham.

It was established in 2006 as a non-charitable group to provide services, and bring together Endeavour, Teesdale and Darlington Housing Associations. In total it owns and manages more than 3,500 properties.

The company is also a PlaceShaper, part of a national network of more than 100 community-focused housing associations. Together it owns and manages more than 805,000 homes and provide services to more than two million people, re-investing 100% of its profits into its own homes and communities and helping more than 60,000 people into work since 2010.

It holds the Investors in People Gold Award, Investors in diversity, and is a 2015 Sunday Times Top 100 Best Company in the ‘not for profit’ sector and a Living Wage employer.

Chief Executive Angela Lockwood told us: “If organisations across the Tees Valley created more direct links with education we could really work together to build confidence and teach students the vital employability skills they need.”